The Little World

The original of this Martin B 10 bomber was not a hangar queen. Part of a 10-plane shipment to China, it and one other were the last of their lot as war took its toll. I get the feeling that there were issues with aircraft maintenance, airfield protection, and crew performance that gradually took out the others.

But two of them were sent on a bombing raid over Japan – and, like the early efforts of the RAF bomber crews over Germany, their high command sent them with the ridiculous task of dropping propaganda leaflets.

It was a late afternoon mission that went into the night. The planes separated, flew their missions, then met up for a flight home. They were given only the crudest of guidance to return but found Chinese airfields to land on eventually. A tribute to the courage and professionalism of the crews.

The Azur FROMM kit was fun from start to finish, warped fuselage notwithstanding. It’s the third plane in my Chinese Air Force section and the first bomber. There should be quite a few more if I can find older Czech kits of the minor-grade aircraft they flew. Already I am eyeing a Polikarpov 1-16 as a possibility for the next RoCAF plane.